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Quickly...Wichita State (3-8) plays host to the Oklahoma Christian Eagles in a tuneup exhibition game prior to opening the Missouri Valley Conference schedule and taking the first road swing of the season Fri., Jan. 1 at Indiana State, and Sun., Jan. 3 at Illinois State. 
-WSU last played on the road prior to Christmas, Dec. 22, at Tennessee Tech and lost, 54-48.
-The Shockers last played at home Dec. 18-19, in the Papa John's Winter Classic, and defeated Priarie View A&M (64-36) and North Carolina A&T State (55-53). 
-After playing just one home game in November, WSU played just one game on the road in December, Tuesday, at Tennessee Tech. Six of the Shockers' seven games in December are at home, while four of five November games were away from Wichita.
-WSU is led in scoring and rebounding by Rangie Bessard, who averages 15.8 points and 8.6 rebounds a game in the five games she has played in 2015-16 since becoming eligible after sitting out after transferring from Minnesota. 
-WSU was led in scoring by freshman Jyar Francis, who averages 12.4 points a game off the bench, but missed four games with a concussion before returning for the Tennessee Tech game. The next-leading scorer is TaQuandra Mike, who averages 11.2 points a game.
-The Shockers returned five players from last year's NCAA Tournament team, including three who came off the bench for WSU. Junior guard Jaleesa Chapel returned with the most experience, having played in 63 games with two starts the previous two years, while Aundra Stovall and Brittany Martin both also played a year ago off the bench. 
-Eight Shockers will suit up against the Eagles. Freshman Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage has not been released to play after knee surgery prior to her arrival at WSU, and junior Brittany Martin is also out with injury. Marija Pacar recently returned after a concussion, while the Shockers added a non-scholarship player, Hannah Mortimer, a 5-4 transfer guard from Brown Mackie College in Salina, Kan.
-Rangie Bessard collected her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds at Tennessee Tech. She shot 36 percent (5-14) from the field and 44 percent (4-9) from the line. She also had three steals and two blocks. Francis had 11 points in her return

Finally Together... Wichita State's two leading scorers this season finally got the chance to play together at Tennessee Tech. Rangie Bessard (15.8) and Jyar Francis (12.4) had 14 and 11 points, respectively, in the game. Bessard became eligible after her transfer Dec. 11 against Tennessee, which was Francis' first of four games out with a concussion.

Getting Healthy... With the return of Marija Pacar (concussion) and Jyar Francis (concussion), and the addition of non-scholarship Hannah Mortimer, the Shockers are slowly adding depth to the bench. Pacar missed three games, Francis missed four games and Bessard (transfer) missed the first six games. Brittany Martin (knee) and Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage (knee) are still out and have missed eight and 11 games, respectively. 

Shockers Open Defense...After the exhibition game Tuesday night, the Shockers head on the road to defend their three-straight Missouri Valley Conference titles. WSU was picked in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason poll to finish fifth, its lowest position in the preseason poll since 2010-11 when the Shockers were also picked fifth. WSU finished fifth that season, then finished third in 2011-12 after being picked third, before going onto three-straight titles.

Picking Up Speed... Rangie Bessard has now played her first five games as a Shocker and collected her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 boards at Tennessee Tech. She also had 24 points and 10 rebounds against Prairie View A&M. She averages a team-leading 15.8 points and 8.6 rebounds a game, earned All-Tournament honors at the Winter Classic and earned MVC Newcomer of the Week honors in her short WSU career.

WSU Series Stuff... WSU has not met Oklahoma Christian in regular season women's basketball.

On OC...OC and Wichita State have one common opponent this season in Central Oklahoma. WSU beat Central Oklahoma, 68-61, in an exhibition game on Nov. 8, while UCO beat the OC, 63-51, on Nov. 17 in a regular-season contest.

OC Head Coach Stephanie Findley...OC coach Stephanie Findley has recorded more wins than any other women's college coach in Oklahoma history, with a 576-380 mark during her 31st season at the helm of the Lady Eagles. She became OC's head coach before the 1985-86 season, after three years as an assistant coach with the Lady Eagles and four seasons as an OC player before that, meaning she's been associated with the program since the 1978-79 campaign. 

The DL on the OC...The university's name is Oklahoma Christian University, but they use the acronym "OC", out of deference to cross-town Oklahoma City University, which used "OCU" for their athletic teams. OC is located in far north Oklahoma City, close enough to the city limit that the nearest post office is in Edmond, Okla. That means the university actually has an Edmond mailing address, even though it is physically in Oklahoma City. 

OC's Division II Story...After a three-year transition period from the NAIA into the NCAA, OC is in its first season as a full Division II member in 2015-16. The Lady Eagles now are eligible for NCAA postseason events, after spending the last three years competing in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). OC is a member of the Heartland Conference, which has 11 member schools in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Texas. One is Dallas Baptist, which is an affiliate member of the Missouri Valley Conference in baseball, in which it competes with fellow MVC member Wichita State. Wichita's Newman University is also in the Heartland.

Bessard Named MVC Newcomer of the Week... Sophomore forward Rangie Bessard averaged 18.7 points and 9.0 rebounds in Wichita State's three games the week of Dec. 13-20 to be named the Shockers' fourth MVC Newcomer of the Week this season, while shooting 46 percent (23-of-50) from the field. Her effort included All-Tournament Team honors after she averaged 20.0 points and 9.0 boards in the Shockers' two-game Winter Classic. She shot 58.6 percent (17-of-29) in the tournament and also had five assists, two steals and one block. 

On Jody Adams... Adams (Tennessee, '94) is in her eighth season at Wichita State as the only Shocker women's basketball coach to make an NCAA appearance and win an MVC regular-season and MVC Tournament championship at WSU. Her 2012-13 team accomplished all of that, then the 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams repeated the exact same feat. WSU has won three-straight MVC regular-season and MVC Tournament titles and competing in three-straight NCAA Tournaments. 
At 29-5 overall, the 2014-15 team broke the school's season win record by three games.
She is 150-91 in her eighth season at WSU and 179-99 overall in her ninth season as a head coach, which includes a 24-8 record as head coach at Murray State in 2007-08.
In addition, WSU is 90-27 (.785) overall at home under Adams, including 16-0 in 2014-15.
Adams is first on the WSU all-time wins list. She passed Linda Hargrove, who won 113 games at WSU from 1989-98, on Fri., Feb. 21, 2014 in a win against Illinois State.